Americans are leaving the United States at levels not seen since the Great Depression, driven by divisive politics and a cost-of-living crisis. In 2025, net outward migration was estimated between negative 10,000 and negative 295,000 people, according to Brookings, with similar trends forecast for 2026.
Previously, those leaving were often adventurous and highly qualified, but now ordinary people are joining the exodus. Jen Barnett, founder of resettlement firm Expatsi, told The Wall Street Journal: “Previously, the Americans leaving were super-adventurous and well-credentialed. Now they’re ordinary people, like me.” Barnett herself relocated to Yucatán, Mexico, in 2024.
Renunciations of US citizenship have also surged. Before 2009, typically 200 to 400 people renounced each year; by 2025, that figure approached 5,000, with further increases expected due to steep fee reductions. Nearly all European Union member states have seen record numbers of Americans arriving to live and work, with approximately 1.6 million Americans now residing in the EU, the largest concentration of US expats globally.
A November 2025 Gallup poll found that one in five Americans would like to permanently move abroad, double the figure from ten years earlier. Factors include political disagreements, unaffordable housing, and high living expenses. A February 2025 Harris poll indicated that 68% of those considering leaving cited unattainable home ownership and a sense of merely surviving, while 49% pointed to high costs and political discontent.
“Golden visas” for investors, remote work, and incentives for digital nomads have opened new pathways for leaving. Global Citizen Solutions noted: “For the better part of two centuries, the story of American migration ran in a single direction: inward. That narrative is shifting.” Within the US, high-cost states like California and Hawaii have also seen population declines.
